What Is Step 1.5 in a Lash Lift – and Does Express Cysteamine Need It?

Lash lift systems are changing quickly, and one term appearing more often is Step 1.5.

Some newer systems include an additional product between the lifting and setting stages. That can naturally lead artists to wonder whether a three-step system is now missing something.

So, does every lash lift need a Step 1.5?

No. It depends entirely on how that particular system has been formulated and how its manufacturer has designed the treatment protocol.

What Is Step 1.5 in a Lash Lift?

“Step 1.5” is not one universal cosmetic ingredient or a compulsory stage of lash lifting. It is a name different brands may use for an additional product placed between Step 1 and Step 2.

Depending on the system, that product may be designed to add conditioning ingredients, help remove or manage residue from Step 1, support the hair between processing stages, or form part of that manufacturer’s approach to pH management.

That can be useful when the complete system has been developed and tested around that extra stage.

But it does not mean every lash lift formulation requires one.

Why Express Cysteamine Is a Three-Step System

Express Cysteamine was formulated as a complete three-step lash lift and brow lamination system:

Step 1 – Lift
Step 2 – Set
Step 3 – Nourish

Rather than relying on an additional product between Steps 1 and 2, supportive and conditioning ingredients are already incorporated throughout the system.

Looking at the complete ingredient lists explains why.

Step 1 – Cysteamine-Led Reduction With Conditioning Support

Express Step 1 uses Cysteamine HCl as its primary reducing chemistry. Its job is to allow the natural lashes or brow hairs to be reshaped during the treatment.

But Step 1 is not simply cysteamine in a cream base.

It also contains:

• Glycerin – a humectant used to help attract and retain moisture.
• Propylene glycol – another humectant and formulation-support ingredient.
• Hydrolysed soy protein.
• Hydrolysed wheat protein.
• Hydrolysed corn protein.

Those hydrolysed proteins are commonly used in hair-conditioning formulations to support the feel, appearance and manageability of chemically treated hair.

So conditioning support does not suddenly begin after Step 1 has finished. It is already part of the lifting formulation itself.

Step 2 – Setting the New Shape

Once Step 1 has been correctly removed, Express Step 2 performs the essential oxidising stage that helps reform and stabilise the hair in its new position.

Hydrogen peroxide provides the setting chemistry, but the formulation also contains:

• Glycerin.
• Propylene glycol.
• Tocopherol (Vitamin E).
• Sunflower seed oil.

Again, the formulation is doing more than one job. The chemical setting stage sits alongside ingredients selected for their conditioning and emollient properties.

Step 3 – The Main Post-Treatment Conditioning Stage

Express Step 3 is where the system delivers its most extensive conditioning support after chemical processing.

The formulation contains ingredients including:

• Glycerin.
• Panthenol.
• Sodium hyaluronate.
• Hydrolysed corn, soy and wheat proteins.
• Tocopherol (Vitamin E).
• Niacinamide.
• Proline.
• Arginine.
• Alanine.
• Glutamic acid.
• Additional emollients, botanical extracts and conditioning ingredients.

This final stage is designed to condition the lashes or brows following the lifting and setting process and help leave the natural hair feeling soft and manageable.

For a deeper look at this stage, read Why Is Step 3 Important After a Lash Lift or Brow Lamination?

So Does That Mean Step 1.5 Is Unnecessary?

Not at all.

A Step 1.5 can be completely appropriate within a system that has specifically been formulated, tested and instructed to use one.

The important distinction is that lash lift systems are not interchangeable.

An additional stage used by one manufacturer does not automatically reveal a missing stage in another manufacturer’s protocol.

The right question is not:

“Does this system have as many steps as the newest system?”

It is:

“What is each formulation designed to do, and how have those formulations been designed to work together?”

Why We Do Not Recommend Adding an Extra Step to Express

Professional lash lift products should be used according to the instructions for the specific system in your hands.

Adding a separate pH treatment, conditioning product or other “Step 1.5” between Express Steps 1 and 2 simply because another brand uses one would change the protocol.

That extra product may alter the conditions on the hair before Step 2, introduce ingredients the Express protocol was not designed around or affect how completely the preceding product has been removed.

Unless a manufacturer has specifically formulated and tested its system to include that stage, there is no basis for assuming that an extra product will improve the result.

More stages do not automatically mean a more advanced lash lift.

Correct processing, thorough product removal, appropriate setting, hair assessment and correct use of the full system matter far more than the number printed on the sachets or pumps.

What About pH Balancing?

pH is important in professional hair chemistry, but that does not mean every lash lift requires a separate bottle or sachet labelled “pH Balancer”.

pH is part of the formulation of each processing product. Different reducing systems, alkalising ingredients, oxidising stages and complete protocols are designed differently.

If a manufacturer has designed a separate pH-balancing stage into its system, follow that protocol.

Express has not been designed with a separate pH-balancing Step 1.5, so one should not be added simply because it appears in another system.

Express Sachets and Airless Pumps Use the Same Three-Step System

This applies whether you use Express in 1.5ml sachets or 8ml airless pumps.

The format changes. The three-step chemistry does not.

Sachets can suit artists who perform fewer treatments, prefer opening smaller quantities at a time or want a practical way to manage stock. Airless pumps can suit busier professionals who want controlled dispensing and more treatments from one container.

Neither format requires an extra Step 1.5.

The Bottom Line: Follow the System, Not the Trend

Step 1.5 is not inherently good or bad, and three-step systems are not automatically less advanced than four-step systems.

They are simply different formulation strategies.

Express Cysteamine uses a cysteamine-led Step 1 with humectants and hydrolysed proteins, a peroxide Step 2 with additional conditioning ingredients, and a comprehensive Step 3 containing panthenol, sodium hyaluronate, proteins, amino acids, niacinamide and more.

Those three stages were designed to work together as the complete Express protocol.

If another lash lift system includes a Step 1.5, use it exactly as that manufacturer instructs. If you are using Express, use Express as it was formulated and tested: Lift, Set and Nourish.

You can also read Why We Developed Our Express Cysteamine Lash Lift System for more about the formulation, processing times and why Express is available in both pumps and sachets.